The Death of Life
The Death of Life is an action-adventure video game developed by Nice Cat, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and distributed by Disney Interactive Studios, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 3 on July 11, 2013. The game follows the stories of Blake Hearn, a soldier who is assigned to escort a young girl named Misty across a post-apocalyptic United States, while the other part follows Pocahontas and Quasimodo, and The Iron Giant as they travel across the post-apocalyptic world while being accompanied by Simba. [[Development of The Death of Life|Development on The Death of Life]] began in 2009 after the release of Nice Cat's previous game, Mission: Impossible - IMF 2. The relationships between Blake, Misty, Timon, Pumbaa, Quasimodo, Pocahontas, The Iron Giant, and Simba became the central focus of the game, with all other elements developed around it. Actors Matt Damon, Rumer Willis, Angela Sarafyan, Chris O'Donnell, Pete L. J. Dickson, and Dakota Goyo portrayed Blake, Misty, Pocahontas, Quasimodo, The Iron Giant, and Simba respectively through voice and motion capture, while Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprise their roles as Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. The original score was composed and performed by Nobuo Uematsu. Following it's announcement in December 2011, The Death of Life was widely anticipated. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim. Praise was directed at its story, narrative, gameplay, visual and sound design, characterization, voice cast, depiction of Disney, Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon characters, and Damon, Willis, O'Donnell, Sarafyan, Dickson, and Goyo's performances as the main characters, although it was criticized for it's similarities to The Last of Us. The Death of Life became one of the best-selling games of 2013, selling over 1.4 million units in its first week and over nine million units within thirteen months. It won over 230 awards and it is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time and one of the greatest video games in PlayStation history. After the game's release, Nice Cat released several downloadable content additions; The Death of Life: Untold adds a single-player campaign following Misty and her best friend Dom. An enhanced edition of the original game, The Death of Life Remastered, was released for the PlayStation 4 in August 2014. A sequel, The Death of Life Part 2, was announced in December 2016. Gameplay The Death of Life is an action adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Players traverse post-apocalyptic environments such as towns, buildings, and sewers to advance the story. Players use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and robotic humanoids. For most of the game, players control Blake, a soldier of the Resistance against the humanoids, who is tasked with escorting a young girl named Misty across the United States with assistance from Timon and Pumbaa; and Quasimodo, who and Pocahontas are tasked with escorting a lion cub named Kopa (son of Simba and Nala); Misty, Simba, and other companions are controlled by the artificial intelligence. In combat, players can use long-ranged weapons, such as rifles, shotguns, and bows, and short-range weapons such as handguns and short-barreled shotgun. Co-operative gameplay The game has an online cooperative mode for the campaign. Players control SpongeBob and Pocahontas, and have the same gameplay as the single-player. Multiplayer Alongside the campaign mode is an online multiplayer mode, which allows players to compete in several maps. In each multiplayer match, there are two enemy teams: four survivors and four scavengers, and there are three types of games for multiplayer to compete in, played in five different maps: the modes are Team Deathmatch, Private Rescue and Cry for Help. The first mode is a simple PvP combat scenario, with teams pitted against each other, and the winning team being the one to kill the opposing team in three separate matches. In the second mode, the "survivors" team must take medical supplies to a specific point on the map, while the "scavengers" must reach a certain number of kills, both within a ten-minute time limit. The third mode, Cry for Help, involves the "survivors" exploring the maps and retrieving batteries for defended radio beacons while being hunted by the "scavengers". Across all three modes, weapons and destroyable environments from the single-player campaign are carried over. Plot :See also: List of The Death of Life characters ;Prologue In June of 2013, a Scientist named Roberto (Tom Kane) creates a robot with his own intellect to create the S.M.A.R.T., a robot with a soulless ability. He then integrates it into the Fabrication Machine, an armature that can construct an army of war machines to destroy Roberto's enemies. Lacking a soul, the Fabrication Machine becomes so corrupted, sadistic, and bloodthirsty that it had the idea to exterminate all of Earth's population. The Fabrication Machine reprograms the other war machines, turning them into known as infectors, to attack humanity, wiping out all plant, animal and microbial life with a toxic gas and chemical weapons. In Chicago, Blake Hearn (Matt Damon) escapes the chaos with his brother James (Paul Walker), sister Vanessa (Ali Larter) and his son Kendall (Nicky Jones). As they flee, Kendall is shot by a drone and dies in Blake's arms. ;Blake, Timon, Pumbaa, and Misty plot 20 years later, Blake is a soldier part of the resistance with his partners Timon (Nathan Lane), his warthog best friend Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), and Triennia Kane (Rachael Leigh Cook) in the Huston, Texas quarantine zone. They are assigned by General Hortense (Christian Bale) to hunt down Hudson (Matthew Lillard), a black market dealer, to recover a stolen weapons cache. Before Triennia kills him, Hudson reveals that he traded the cache with the Dragonflies, a rebel militia opposing the quarantine zone authorities. The leader of the Dragonflies, April (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), promises to double their cache in return for smuggling a teenage girl, Misty (Rumer Willis), to Dragonflies hiding in the Huston capitol building outside the quarantine zone. The trio report back to Hortense, but while reporting back, they discover Misty is infected with fungus. Full death from infection normally occurs in under two days, but Misty claims she was infected three weeks ago and that her immunity may lead to a cure. However, Timon clarifies that a cure is not the answer into stopping the infectors, since they are manufactured in a self-artifcial factory in Boston, Massachusetts, which is heavily fortified. The trio make their way to their destination through hordes of the infectors, but find that the Dragonflies there have been killed. Triennia reveals she has been bitten by an infector; believing in Misty's importance, Triennia sacrifices herself against pursuing soldiers so Blake, Misty, Timon and Pumbaa can escape. Blake decides to find James, a former Dragonfly, in the hope that he can locate the remaining Dragonflies. With the help of Phill (Chris Marquette), a smuggler, they acquire a working vehicle. Driving into Dallas, Texas, Blake, Misty, Timon and Pumbaa are ambushed by bandits with their vehicle getting recked in the process. They ally with Goofy Goof (Bill Farmer) and his son Max (Jason Marsden); after they escape the city, Max is bitten by an infector, but hides it from the group. As his infection takes hold, Max dies, promoting Goofy to commit suicide. In the fall, Blake, Misty, Timon and Pumbaa finally find James, who lives at a riven in Colorado. Blake contemplates leaving Misty with James, but after she confronts him about Kendall, he decides to let her stay with him and Timon and Pumbaa. James directs them to a Dragonflies enclave at the hospital of Jackson, Wyoming. They find the hospital abandoned, but learn that the Dragonflies have moved to a University in Kansas City, Kansas. Afterward, Blake is severely wounded by bandits, who are killed by Misty, Timon and Pumbaa. ;Quasimodo, Pocahontas, Simba, and Iron Giant plot In the New York City, New York quarantine zone, Quasimodo (Chris O'Donnell) from The Hunchback of Notre Dame works as a smuggler with his partner Pocahontas (Angela Sarafyan) from Pocahontas. A member of the Dragonfiles, Callus (Craig Robert Young), approaches the two with a task; he promises some medicine in exchange for smuggling young lion cub, Simba (Dakota Goyo). Though they hesitant at first, they eventually agreed to the task. When they sneak out in the night, Quasimodo, Pocahontas, and Simba encounter a patrol and discover that Simba is infected like Misty. The trio make their way to their destination through hordes of the infectors, but find that the Dragonflies there have been killed. Quasimodo then suggest they find Blake. As they are about to be attack by infectors, a giant robot (Pete L. J. Dickson) rescues them. Although Quasimodo and Pocahontas don't trust the robot, Simba quickly befriends him. The giant helps the trio reached the Huston, Texas quarantine zone, only to discover that Blake, Timon, and Pumbaa left the quarantine zone with Misty. Pocahontas decides to find Phoebus (Troy Baker), since he was a former Dragonfly, believing he can locate the remaining Dragonflies. In the fall, Quasimodo, Pocahontas and Simba finally find Phoebus in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has assembled a fortified settlement near a hydroelectric dam with his wife Esmeralda (Ashley Scott). Quasimodo contemplates leaving Simba with Phoebus and Esmeralda, but Simba confronts Quasimodo and Pocahontas about the lost of his parents, he decides to let him stay with them. Phoebus directs them to a Dragonflies enclave at a university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Like Blake and his friends, they find the university abandon, but learn that the Dragonflies have moved to a University in Kansas City, Kansas. However, the Giant, Quasimodo and Pocahontas are severely wounded by bandits, who are killed by Simba. ;Last story During the winter, Misty, Blake, Timon and Pumbaa shelter in the mountains, as does Simba, the Giant, Quasimodo, and Pocahontas. Blake, Quasimodo, Pocahontas, and the Giant are on the brink of death and rely on Misty, Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba to care for them. Misty and Simba come across each other and soon encounter Davis (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and his partner Connor (Christopher Judge). After fighting off a swarm of infectors, Davis becomes hostile and kidnaps Misty and Simba. The two escape, but Davis corners them in a burn grocery store. Blake, Quasimodo, and Pocahontas recover, but the Giant is still unconscious, and find meet each other. They team up to find Misty and Simba. They reunite with the two after Misty and Simba kill Davis. Development Nice Cat began [[Development of The Death of Life|developing The Death of Life]] in 2009, following the release of Mission: Impossible - IMF 2. For the first time in the company's history, Nice Cat split into two teams; while one team developed Mission: Impossible - IMF 3 (2011), the other began work on The Death of Life. Director Chris Roberts and creative director Mathijs de Jonge led the team responsible for developing The Death of Life. The Death of Life features an original score composed primarily by Nobuo Uematsu, who is best known for composing the score for Final Fantasy VII. Uematsu was contacted early in development. He used various instruments to compose the score, including some that he was unfamiliar with, giving a sense of danger and innocence. The team created new engines to satisfy their needs for the game. The artificial intelligence was created to coordinate with players; the addition of Misty and Simba as artificial intelligence was a major contributor to the engine. The lighting engine was also re-created to incorporate soft light, in which the sunlight seeps in through spaces and reflects off surfaces. The gameplay introduced difficulty to the team, as they felt that every mechanic required thorough analysis. The game's user interface design also underwent various iterations throughout development. The Death of Life was announced on December 10, 2011, at the Spike Video Game Awards, alongside its debut trailer and an official press release acknowledging some of the game's features. The announcement ignited widespread anticipation within the gaming industry, which journalists owed to Nice Cat's reputation. The game missed its original projected release date of June 21, 2013, and was pushed to July 11, 2013 worldwide for further polishing, and to avoid with another Sony published title. To promote pre-order sales, Nice Cat collaborated with several retailers to provide special editions of the game with extra content. Downloadable content The Death of Life Remastered On April 9, 2014, Sony announced The Death of Life Remastered, an enhanced version of the game for the PlayStation 4. It was released on July 19, 2014 in North America. Reception Critical response | OPMUK = 10/10 | Poly = 8.5/10 }} The Death of Life received widespread critical acclaim. Review aggregator website Metacritic calculated an average score of 95 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 98 reviews. It is the fifth-highest rated PlayStation 3 game on Metacritic. Reviewers praised the character development, story and subtext, visual and sound design, and depiction of Disney, Warner Bros., and Nickelodeon characters. The game is considered one of the most significant titles of the seventh generation of video games, and has been included among the greatest video games of all time. Casy Lynch of IGN called The Death of Life "a masterpiece" and "PlayStation 3's best exclusive", and Edge considered it "the most riveting, emotionally resonant story-driven epic" of the console generation. Oli Welsh of Eurogamer wrote that it is "a beacon of hope" for the action-adventure genre; Andy Kelly of Computer and Video Games declared it "Nice Cat's finest moment". Remastered |rev2 = The Telegraph |rev2Score = 9/10 }} Like the original version, The Death of Life Remastered was met with critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 95 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 69 critics. It is the fourth-highest rated PlayStation 4 game on Metacritic, behind Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, and The Last of Us Remastered. Controversy In December 2011 after the game's announcement, critics and gamers became displeased with the game for it's similarities to Naughty Dog s The Last of Us. Critics noted the Blake, Misty, Timon and Pumbaa story looked very much like the Joel and Ellie story in The Last of Us. Nice Cat later issued an apology to Naughty Dog, stating they had no idea they're game was just like their, and that they would never do something like that to Naughty Dog. Following the game's release, Naughty Dog co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra played a copy of The Death of Life, and ended up praising the game and later congratulated Nice Cat. Sales Within six days of its release, The Death of Life sold over 1.4 million units, becoming the biggest video game launch of 2013 at the time. Three weeks after its release, the game sold over 3.5 million units, and was deemed the biggest launch of an original game since 2011's L.A. Noire and the fastest-selling PlayStation 3 game of 2013 at the time. The game became the best-selling digital release on PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3, breaking the record previously held by The Last of Us, though numerical sales figures were not disclosed; this record was later beaten by Grand Theft Auto V. The Death of Life ultimately became the tenth best-selling game of 2013. By August 2014, the game had sold nine million copies: eight million on PlayStation 3 and one million on PlayStation 4. It is the third best-selling PlayStation 3 game of all time. In the United Kingdom, the game remained atop the charts for six consecutive weeks, matching records set by multi-platform titles. Within 48 hours of its release, The Death of Life generated more than the £3 million earned by Despicable Me 2 in the same period. The game also topped the charts in the United States, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and Japan. Awards The Death of Life is one of the most awarded games of all time, winning over 230 Game of the Year awards. Prior to its release, it received numerous awards for its previews at E3. It was review aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings' third-highest rated for the year 2013, behind Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us. The game appeared on several year-end lists of the best games of 2013, receiving wins from the 41st Annie Awards, The A.V. Club, the British Academy Video Games Awards, Canada.com, Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, Destructoid, the 17th Annual DICE Awards, The Escapist, GamesRadar, GameTrailers, the 14th Annual Developers Choice Awards, Game Revolution, Giant Bomb, Good Game, Hardcore Gamer, IGN, IGN Australia, International Business Times, Kotaku, National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, VG247, VideoGamer.com. It was also named the Best PlayStation Game by GameSpot, GameTrailers, Hardcore Gamer, and IGN. Nice Cat was nominated Studio of the Year and Best Developer from The Daily Telegraph, Edge, the Golden Joystick Awards, Hardcore Gamer, and the 2013 Spike VGX. Sequel References Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment Category:Rated T games Category:2013 video games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:Disney Games Category:Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Category:Games Category:Crossover Games Category:Nice Cat games